The Russian Orthodox Church hails the spiritual affinity
between Russia and Greece and calls on Moscow and Athens
to preserve it, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church
Kirill said on Wednesday.

“As long as she [the Mother of God] keeps Russia and
Greece under her protecting veil we will survive. May God
grant that the origins of our spiritual affinity are not
disregarded … by our statesmen. We will remind them
about them if they are neglected,” the patriarch
said, speaking at the opening of the exhibition dedicated
to the ties between Russia’s Orthodox Church and
Greece’s Mount Athos.

Holy Mount Athos, located on a peninsula in northeastern
Greece, is a famous monastic center with 17 Greek
monasteries, one Russian named after St. Panteleimon, one
Bulgarian and one Serbian. The district enjoys autonomous
status within the Greek Republic.

Russia and Greece are celebrating 2016 as a cross-cultural
year, marking the millennial anniversary of the first
Russian settlement on the Holy Mountain.